Like most government-funded broadcasters, VOA is facing an uncertain future because of factors that are outside its control, such as budget constraints and censorship by anti-democratic leaders in countries like Russia and China. But VOA’s future is also uncertain because of its own shortcomings.

The UK's Ambassador to the UN is using Twitter to crowdsource ideas for how the the UK could contribute to improving the UN Security Council during its presidency. More information on the Canadian Foreign Ministry's $9.5 million digital diplomacy project in Iran that opens up the internet in countries ruled by repressive regimes by circumventing government firewalls.

India has been placed as the globe's seventh most valued 'nation brand' in 2015, moving up one notch from eighth position in 2014. With an increase of 32 per cent in its brand value to USD 2.137 billion (from USD 1.621 in 2014), , according to Brand Finance, which brought out its annual report on the world's most valuable nation brands in October 2015.

When considering issues in the Middle East, Americans need to review culture, history and religion. Those are the perspectives Eytan Gilboa, the chair and academic director of the Israel Public Diplomacy Forum, will challenge Tucsonans to adopt at three local presentations this week. 

The interactions between environmental issues and faith are evolving, as religious leaders weigh in to guide actions of the faithful on climate change. Buddhist leaders expressed support and lofty expectations for the Paris climate talks at the end of November.

Gonzaga University alumna Christi Anne Hofland (’05) is leading an experiment in U.S. international relations at the center of a volatile geopolitical drama. As director of the newly opened America House cultural center here, Hofland combines her passions for cultural diplomacy and people-to-people engagement.

The first World Indigenous Games is underway in Palmas, Brazil, having kicked off on October 23. Also billed as the Indigenous Olympics, the games include 2,000 athletes from dozens of Brazilian tribes, as well as indigenous groups from 22 other countries—from the United States and Russia, to New Zealand and Ethiopia.